Summer 2024

Toby Ingram just came back from a run, and his girlfriend, Alyssa, was waiting for him at his apartment. They were planning to spend the evening in and watch goofy cartoons. He needed a breather before taking a shower, so he lay on the common area floor with Alyssa, and he lifted his shirt up to his chest, exposing his ribs and belly button. Alyssa then put her right ear against his upper stomach.

“Jesus Christ, Toby. Your heart’s thumping,” Alyssa remarked.
“Yup, I can feel it in my chest,” Toby replied.
“You’re so hot and sweaty, too. How did your run go?”
“I think it went well. Ran up Halsted through Boystown and back and then a little past Fullerton and back.”
“How crazy was it today?” Alyssa asked.
“It wasn’t bad. It’s gonna be insane next weekend though,” Toby said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Oh, can you do me one favor?”
“Yea?”
“Can you tell me your middle name?”
“You know my middle name.”
“I do, but I want to hear you say it,” Alyssa said.
“Alright, my middle name is Matthew,” Toby replied.
“What is it again?”
“It’s Matthew.”
“Again?”
“Matthew.”
“I just love hearing you say your middle name.”
“Sure.”
“You’ve got a strong and sexy heartbeat.”​

Summer 2018

“Do you remember when all five of us boys would drive to all the fast food restaurants in the area and prank them?” Toby Ingram asked his brother, Brody Ingram, over the phone.
“Oh my god, yes. Those were some of our finest moments,” Brody replied.
“So my high school besties and I did that last night.”
“Oh my god. How’d it go?”
“It was actually Sav’s idea,” Toby said, “But it was me, Sav, Mike, Eric, Donnie, and Kyle. We made amends with Kyle.”
“I think my most favorite moment was when we were in Lowell, and it was like 2 am, and we were pretending to ask for a job application,” Brody said.
“I think it was Brett who pulled that one off.”
“He is FUNNY with his pranks. Used to hate them back in the day, but now I’ve learned to appreciate him and his sense of humor.”
“Yeah, we were such morons back in the day.”
“Well, we clearly still are.”
“How late were you out last night?”
“We started getting tired around 3 am, so they all crashed at our parents’ house.”

Summer 2024

“How’s your weekend going so far?” Brody Ingram asked his younger brother, Toby, over the phone.
“It’s going really well, except Alyssa is sick. Otherwise, I’ve got the whole weekend to myself, so that part is really nice,” Toby replied.
“Are you doing anything this weekend?”
“Today, no. Last night, I went to a blues bar with a couple friends. But Sav and his girlfriend are gone for the weekend, so I’ve got the whole apartment to myself. I’ve been in bed all day playing video games, and it’s been glorious.”
“That was me as well. But I’ve got dinner plans with a few friends tonight,” Brody said.
“I’ve gone overboard with takeout today. I had chicken wings for lunch today, and I’m planning to get Chinese food tonight,” Toby replied.
“We’re getting sushi.”
“Jealous. I might have to get that instead. You might have influenced me in some way. I want to get it delivered since I haven’t showered today, and haven’t even brushed my hair or put on deodorant.”
“So you’re really in for the day?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”

Summer 2024

“So I attempted to run 10 miles around the park close to our parents’ house, since I went home for the weekend,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his older brother, Brody.
“How did it go?”
“Not as well as I had hoped. I think, at this point, I’m so used to being able to run up to 8 miles, that somehow I knew something was up around Mile 5.”
“What happened?”
“I noticed that my heart was beating really fast, and so I thought I needed to slow down a bit before going much further. I walked a mile to slow down my heart rate, and then I just chilled by the lake for about 15 minutes. After that, I was able to finish strong,” Toby replied.
“Were you able to run the full 10 miles?” Brody asked.
“I would say more or less 9 miles, but close enough. Then, as usual, on my way home, I got an iced coffee, and right now I’m at Mom and Dad’s house waiting for Dawson and everyone to come over.”
“Yeah, sometimes around Mile 5 or Mile 6, I have issues with my heart pounding really hard, and I have to also slow down for a bit. McCalsky and I are training for the half marathon next year. So far, we are able to run up to 8 miles, walk 1 to 2 miles, and then finish it out. I’m not too worried about it honestly. I’m just there to have fun, not to win money or anything. But that would be nice.”
“Yes, it would be,” Toby remarked.
“By the way, why did you not go back to Crown Point with Dawson and everyone else?” Brody asked.
“They had friends over last night. I’ve been back in Crown Point since last night because I wanted to run at the park. It’s been a minute since I’ve been there, and it’s one of my favorite places to run.”
“Makes sense.”​​​

February 2020

“Looking back, I am so glad I didn’t go through with getting married to Olivia,” David Ingram said over the phone to his younger brother, Toby.
“Yeah, I think it would have been challenging after a while,” Toby replied.
“It all started when things with that house we were looking at fell through because the owners decided to stay there instead of move to Florida, and I got blamed for it.”
“What made you think about this, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I came across her social media, and it looks like she’s already married to someone else, and it really got me thinking,” David said.
“About….?” Toby asked.
“You know how we were all really curious about why we didn’t go to church very often, if at all? It’s all starting to come to me. Mom and Dad kept us from that because they knew firsthand how badly it’s hurt so many people.”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about that as well.”
“Mom told me that, when we were really little, she was out with some people who she thought were friends. They were all bragging about some faith practices that she did not agree with. She basically told them, ‘I have five boys, and I am not about to teach them to be like that.’ And just like that, she left that group and didn’t look back.”
“I don’t remember that at all since I was so young. But that all makes more sense now.”